Marathon Mom

STARTING STATS:

weight: 164.4 lbs
bust: 40 inches
waist: 36 inches
hips: 43 inches
arm: 14 inches
thigh: 26.5 inches

ENDING STATS:

weight: 159.0
bust: 38
waist: 32.5
hips: 39
arm: 13
thigh: 25
jean size: can barely squeeze into my size 10s… and I mean BARELY! Much muffin-toppage!

TOTALS:

weight: -5.4 lbs
bust: -2 inches
waist: -3.5 inches
hips: -4 inches
arm: -1 inches
thigh: -1.5 inches
jean size: quite comfortable in my size 8s, no muffin-top whatsoever!!

SUMMARY:

The weightloss itself doesn’t look that great, but TOM is late and I’m a good 10 days into PMS which means I’m very bloated and retaining half the Pacific right now. I must have drank a couple of gallons of water yesterday trying to help flush all that water-retention out. All that accomplished was that I’ve had to pee every hour for the last 24!! Good news: kidney function is at 100%!

The inches matter much more. I was hoping to be back in my size 6s at the end of this, but I’m not going to snub the size 8s! It just feels good to be back in most of my smaller clothes. And I’m back on the right track with the healthy eating and regular exercise. My head: definitely back in the game!!

Soooo… what did I do very first thing this morning? I REGISTERED FOR THE PARIS MARATHON!!! It’s now official. I am doing this! I’ve paid my Euros and everything!! I even have a bib number! I can not begin to tell you how excited I am!!

I’ve been changing up my diet a bit. I’m trying to incorporate more fiberous fruit: apples, oranges, nectarines, whatever is on sale and in season. Once I finish off the yogurt and cheese I have, I’m going to cut out dairy. I have a love/hate relationship with dairy and I think it’s time to try without it again. I’ve successfully eliminated Diet Coke/Zero and don’t miss it a bit (surprising considering the level of addiction!) I drink almost exclusively water and a cup or two of tea in the morning.

I’m just going to keep refining, trying different things, try to keep my body guessing. I don’t crave fast food. Sweets… well, I don’t think I’ll ever be one of those “I don’t really care for sweets” kinda people! But they don’t hold the power over me like they used to.

I remember hearing/reading a while ago that if you eat an apple before every meal, it helps you cut calories, portion size, etc… (which, duh, makes complete sense since you’re more full of apple and less room for other crap.) So I have a large bowl by my desk at work and another here at home full of small green apples. The kids love ‘em too!! And it’s apple season so YAY!!!

I’m going to continue my daily blogging. It helps with my accountability and focus.

Today is a good day!

I can’t believe I made it to day 30. I’m not great with follow through and sticking with something. The fact that I blogged everyday for 30 days, that I didn’t give up, that I kept going - that amazes me.

Tomorrow I’ll take my Day 30 picture and post all my stats. I’m not really expecting a change from Day 20, since my exercise has been severely limited due to injury. But the diet has been on-target. Yesterday I had a small slice of single layer chocolate cake - and it was GOOD! I didn’t have my snacks, so the calories worked out. I did have two Mike’s light hard lemonades (the last two out of the 6 pack) at bedtime, which means once again I’ve woken up with a small hang-over. Just a nagging one, low at the base of my head, ironically where I usually get my stress headaches. I’ve been having a hard time relaxing at night due to stress. Now that the last two are gone, I’m done with them for a while. I’m going back to Advil PM at night. It’s a bit easier on the system and calorie/sugar/carb-free to boot.

I’m going to hit the elliptical in a few minutes for 45 and then do some squats and straight leg raises (good for strenthening and building the quads, my current injury.) Today would normally be a running day, but since the 10K is on Saturday I’m doing everything I can to heal that injury so I can participate. I did go ahead and register for another 10K on October 3rd. I should be closer to 100% by then and it will be interesting to compare times and experience.

I can’t believe tomorrow is Day 30. I feel like I’ve sort of bombed the last half of boot camp. The exercise just hasn’t been there, because of injury. Which is totally frustrating. BUT - I feel like I got myself back on track and THAT is really what the whole Boot Camp thing was all about. Getting myself back into that healthy mindset. And I’m totally there.

I was frustrated, angry and stressed out last night - so after work I did 90 minutes on the elliptical. I really wanted to go for a run, but I need to keep resting that injured quad muscle so I can do the 10K on Saturday. The elliptical was safe AND it helps with the rehabilitation.

I had four Mike’s Light Hard Lemonades last night too (after the elliptical, not during. Though that would be been interesting! LOL!! Can you exercise while drunk?) And I woke up with a bit of a hangover this morning. Ah well, a No Doz and some Advil really took care of that - good to know, btw!!

Tonite I’m working a little late (though not much) and then going home to do a good 45 on the old elliptical before calling it an early night. Tomorrow is Day 30! And on Wednesday, I’ll post my final stats and pictures. I don’t really expect much change from Day 20 - but I’m ok with that. Mentally, I’m where I need to be. And that is a good place!!

I got hit today with some major financially devastating news. It has left me reeling and I don’t know what to do. It’s my own fault for not asking the right questions and making some basic assumptions. I don’t know how I’m going to make it month to month. And in March it’s going to get markedly worse. I can literally FEEL the stress in my body right now. I feel like I’m going to implode. I hate the mess I’ve made of my life. Financially, I am never going to be ok. I make it month to month and I’ve learned how to be ok with that. Now that’s being threatened. I just have to cut out ALL extras. I hate that this has happened right before two of my kids’ birthdays and the start of the holidays.

I’ll make it work. I always do. I’m just freaking out right now. And it’s going to be a hard few days til I can fully accept this news and learn how to be OK with it. It is what it is. Life was just feeling like it was going to be alright there for a few minutes and now the rug’s been yanked out again. Damn it. Kids and I are going to have to have a family meeting tonite so they know that while we’ll still be able to pay our bills, all extras have to be cut out. There’s just no other way.

Being poor sucks.

As Brseay pointed out, I’m almost to day 30. I don’t know if I can really call these last 10 days much of a boot camp. Injury and my workload have prevented daily exercise. My diet has stayed on track… except for the 5 or so coconut macaroon cookies I ate yesterday. And honestly, that is my only real stray. I’ve had Junior Mints at the movies… but that was my allowed treat and I made it part of my meal plan. Which I think was key. I never felt the urge to really “cheat”… well, I have a bit the last few days but I’m in full PMS mode, so I think the cravings are normal and understandable. Cravings are probably never going to change or go away completely, it’s just how I deal with them that I expect to change. And like I say, other than yesterday, it hasn’t been much of an issue.

The cookies… it was definitely a stress-triggered response combined with convenience. My daughter bought them at the dollar store (of all places, they were surprisingly good. Just generic and cheap, but is there really such a thing as a bad coconut macaroon?) And she offered me one. I was in the middle of a couple of crises at work and I said yes and ate one without thinking. A few hours later, I actively sought her out to see if she had any left (she had most of them left, she didn’t care for them. The only explanation I can think of is a mix-up at the hospital. It was more common back in the early ’90s.) So I ate like four more.

Maybe they were so delicious because I haven’t eaten anything like that in almost a month?

So, here’s the shock… they didn’t trigger a binge!! Not even the urge for a binge, in fact it didn’t even cross my mind. Now THAT is surprising. Normally eating something like that, especially when done in stress mode eating, would send me off in a white carb binge frenzy. Cali and I went to the movies about two hours later. Candy and junk food mecca, right? I begged her to share my Junior Mints with me cause there was no way I could eat the whole box and I didn’t want to - so she had about half… well, maybe less than half. She doesn’t love them as much as I do (further proof right there!) But still, me WANTING to share my precious Junior Mints because I can’t eat them all? UNHEARD OF! Possible sign of the apocalypse!! The four horsemen should be coming through any time now!

I’ll do more of a in depth “what I learned in Boot Camp” at the end of the 30 days. But right here, I can see how it’s changed my relationship with food. I’m not going to get all cocky about it just yet, but I may really be becoming that healthy non-slave to shit food that I’ve always wanted to be!! I wish I could have gotten a better handle on the exercise, but I’m not going to beat myself up over it. My intentions were good (the same intentions paving the way to hell, btw!) but I’m still on track to run that 10K next Saturday. I’ve increased my running time and endurance substantially. So I guess I can’t complain too much. I just hate that I’m still being plagued by knee problems and injury. Guess I should get used to that, huh? I’d say it’s proof that I’m in denial about aging. But I’ve been dealing with knee and back problems since my teens.

Speaking of, it’s time to head out on my run. Four miles today. I’ll be wearing my knee brace and taking it easy. This is my first attempt since that aborted run on Wednesday and first real run since last Sunday’s 6 miler. OK, I’m going to admit I’m just the tiniest bit worried about running this morning that has nothing to do with injury… we are in the middle of an active dry lightening store. Do people get hit by lightening in this sort of situation? It woke me up a few hours ago and I’m watching it on the news right now. “Mainly in the North Bay” - yep, that’s me! Smack in the middle of the weather map they’re showing. So, if you hear later today that woman was struck by lightening while jogging in Marin County, California… you can say Hey I know her… well, KNEW her! Ok, time to suit-up!

UPDATE 7:19 AM - POST RUN

OUCH!! 4 miles cut to 2.5… last half-mile I limped back home. I wore my knee-brace and it helped… at first. And then about the half mile mark, the searing hatchet through the middle of my left kneecap returned with a vengeance… and I decided to just see if I could run through it as I’ve done in the past. I made it to 2 miles and then suddenly the pain shifted up and I realized that I’d just pulled my quad muscle right where it connects to the top of my kneecap. Ah, that’s a pain I could no longer ignore! A) because I could barely put any weight on that leg and B) because I knew that if I pushed it, I would definitely NOT be able to run the 10K next Saturday. So I slowed to a walk and took the next street that lead to home.

Now, instead of spending my day off sorting through the kids’ toys, rearranging some furniture and catching up on laundry; I’ll be spending it in bed with a big ice pack on my knee, watching old Pauly Shore movies on USA and blog-surfing. Not really a bad trade-off!

Hope everyone else can have an equally relaxing (if not less-frustrating!) day!!

Should I even bother trying to set a goal for today? My grandparents are already scheduled to come down to visit at the store today… a little excursion for them. And I’ll go over to visit them this morning, both to check and make sure the DVD set up is still working for them (we have to remember these are new-fangled gadgets AND my grandfather’s eyeset isn’t what it used to be. The remote buttons are so small. And grandma has forgotten how to read, operating a remote is way beyond her abilities at this point.) I’ll also be reminding them that the little bus is coming to pick them up after lunch and bringing them over to see me at work.

Then I have a million and one things to do at work. I didn’t clock out until after 9 last night. That’s a long-ass work day! I’ll be back in before 9 this morning. I’m turning into my mother! Just a few more days until she’s back and can resume her own workaholic role! I can’t do it!! I did get caught up on some bills and inventory check in, so it was worth it. But I still have several orders that have to go out today and some paperwork that should have been emailed two days ago!! I have to do that FIRST THING!! (I keep forgetting about it. I think the Alzheimers is starting already! Early onset at age 39!)

Oh, and don’t forget. I’ll have Skye with me today! Yep, since she was sent home from school sick yesterday there’s no way I can send her today. So she has to go with me to work until Jason gets out at 12:30. At least I have a Senior who only goes half-days since he has “career management” which means he gets credit for working. Niiiiiice!!!

I’ve decided that he needs to get that driver’s license. I’ve been holding his permit over him as an incentive to get good grades. I think we’re past that now. He needs to start and practice driving while he’s still under parental supervision. California has really strict teen driving laws, so it’s now. And to be honest, I’ve been afraid to let him. This surprises me as I’m not generally the over-protective mom-type. But I don’t like riding in cars as a passenger, period. I hate the lack of control. Even with my mom (well, she is a CRAZY driver! It’s amazing she hasn’t died or killed someone. I am counting the days til she is old enough and we can yank her license, she already drives like someone who has dementia. And she thinks she’s this great driver. Ok, so I guess we all do! LOL!!) Anyway, I need to let that go. As teenage boys go, mine is one of the best. It’s rare you can describe a 16 year old as responsible, but that’s exactly what he is. It’s time that I accept he really is growing up and can handle this. It’s me who can’t handle it. I’ll tell him today to call and schedule his driver’s ed classes. That’s my goal for the day. To let my son grow up. Oh, going to the gym is way easier!!

Today’s goal: go to the gym

Yesterday was not mine. It was spent taking care of my grandparents and trying to get a handful of things done at work that absolutely HAD to get done. In fact, there was one thing that I needed to do and couldn’t because I just ran out of time. Today, other than running over to check on them just before lunch, I can concentrate on work. And I will carve out some gym time. Period. I owe it to myself.

UPDATE 4:44 PM

Gym = not happening

Going home to run on elliptical = not happening

Life ever being predictable = not happening

My grandparents are without cable until next Thursday. Why? Because Comcast is shit-tastic! The idiots turned off my grandparents account BY THEIR MISTAKE and it’s going to take them over a week to get a tech out here with a new box. Did I mention that this is COMCAST’S error? And yet, can’t get anyone over for a week. Wow - what great customer service. Assholes!!

So instead of going to the gym, I ran to Bestbuy and picked them up a DVD player (theirs didn’t make it over in the move, I don’t know why) and some movies. I found a Shirley Temple collection (my grandmother specifically requested, grandpa didn’t look too thrilled! LOL!!) A best of John Wayne 15 movie collection (oh you should have seen his face light up at that, though!) and then a collection of the Golden Age of Cinema with movies starring Gary Cooper, Bob Hope, Clark Gable, Dorothy Lamoure, Katherine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart… well, you get the idea. They really liked that too. So I spent a couple of hours doing that and hooking it all up… their set-up is weird and it took a while to get the right combination of things plugged in to each other. Fun times!

Which also means I’m beyond behind at work. I’ll be staying late… well, coming back actually after I drop my daughter off at home.

Oh, and the school called earlier. Skye fell asleep during circle time. Her fever came back and the school had me come get her. Then they called a bit ago. My older boys forgot to pick Sean up after school. He sat in the office for about 45 minutes before they called me. That would be two weeks in a row… at least this one wasn’t directly my fault.

My life is spinning completely out of control. Much suckage.

I’m getting ready to head out on my run this morning. Just 3 miles… it feels weird saying just to that. But three miles has become my default run. I think that bumps up to 4 miles on my small run days next month. And by November, I’ll be running 6 miles on my regular days and my long runs will be up to 10 and more. It starts to increase pretty quickly. Which is actually good, I’m still planning a half-mary the first weekend in December. It involves running across the Golden Gate Bridge, twice (coming and going) and a run through Golden Gate Park. I live just north of the GGB, just 20 minute drive from the City (SF) and the race starts and ends up here, on my side of the GGB. I guess that might be weird to some people, that I live so close to one of the major travel destinations in the world. Just like when I hear people talking about walking near the Eiffel Tower which is just down the street from their home. That just blows me away that people LIVE there! Or someone I know who lives in the Bronx and goes bike riding all over NYC and Manhattan and other landmarks that I think of as famous and exotic and she just calls home. I try not to take it for granite, and do touristy stuff peroidically, like a tour of Alcatraz (which is very cool, by the way!) or just bum around Fisherman’s wharf and Pier 39. We take the ferry, go to Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum, eat clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls and get bags of salt water taffy. It’s fun to play tourist in your own backyard. I recommend everyone do it!

OK, I guess I’ve stalled lacing up and heading out the door long enough. It’s time to literally hit the road!

UPDATE 7:11 AM

Well, my knee decided about a quarter mile into my run that this just wasn’t going to happen this morning. Oh, I am PISSED. I’ve never had to stop and walk back home before. But powering through was not an option. GRRRR!!! I am not a happy camper… er… runner. I’m going to do a little google research and see if I can figure this thing out.

UPDATE 7:15 AM

Well, that didn’t take long, did it? First result on Google search hit it a bullseye!

What is it?

Kneecap pain or runner’s knee, known to doctors as patellofemoral joint pain or patellofemoral pain syndrome, is characterised by pain at the front or middle edge of the knee or under the kneecap.

Symptoms

Pain at the front or middle edge of the knee or under the kneecap. The pain can often be felt while squatting or going up or down stairs, and when a person gets up after having sat for a while.

Causes

The pain can be caused by any imbalance or dysfunction of the stabilising forces that keep the patella (kneecap) tracking smoothly in the patellofemoral groove on the femur (thighbone).

These causes include overly tight thigh (quadriceps) muscles, tightness of the iliotibial band – the strong band of thick tissue running down the outside of the thigh, weakness of one of the large quadriceps muscles – the vastus medialis oblique (VMO), and faulty biomechanics, such as that causing excessive pronation (rolling in of the foot during the gait cycle).

Treatment

Initial treatment may involve taping of the kneecap to hold it closer to the midline of the body to relieve pain. Rehabilitation usually involves stretching and strengthening exercises to achieve correct balance of the stabilising muscles around the kneecap. If there are biomechanical abnormalities, orthotics may be needed.

The full article can be found HERE.

So, I basically need to go back to the gym and resume my knee physical therapy exercises (I haven’t been doing them the past couple of weeks, I thought I didn’t need them anymore. That’s what I get for thinkin’! And until it’s restrengthened, I need to put my knee brace back on. I haven’t worn them in at least a month. In other words, it’s the same cause I’ve always had, it’s just manifesting itself in a slightly different way.

I will never learn. Ever.

UPDATE 10:09 PM

I am so tired. I hope I get a really good night’s sleep tonite. I need it. It was a long day and I got nothing done that I wanted or needed to. I am so behind, I’m almost in front!!

Tomorrow is another day.

Ahhhhh crap. Did I run today? No, I did not. Becuz? Why becuz of my damn knee. Well, the what I believe to be pinched nerve that runs behind my knee cap and causes a searing pain when it flares up… which seems to be when I bend it. Which is totally required when running (and why, I believe, Zombies do not in fact run. Rigor mortis seems to prevent joint bendage. Just a theory.) So, unless I plan on running a 10K with Zombies, I’m going to need to use my knees and figure out this whole pinched nerve/pain thing pretty darn quick.

I will be running tomorrow morning regardless. Becuz. I need to. Just a little 3 mile jaunt.

Food yesterday got a little high in the calorie range, but it was all healthy… well, mostly. I had a couple of turkey burgers in whole wheat pita pockets, a ton of salsa with a few tortilla chips, and a ginormous smoked salmon with cream cheese omelet (when we went to breakfast at Toast with my grandparents. It’s called the Nova Scotia omelet… and I expected it to be a bit better, actually. Not nearly as good as the grilled chicken with pesto omelet I had the last time. Mmmm….)

Unfortunately, I slipped back into old bad habits today and ate almost nothing to make up for it: one light cheese stick, a fat free yogurt and a palmful of roasted sunflower seeds. Yep, that’s it. I know. I should have eaten a low calorie but solid menu today. What can I say? I wasn’t hungry. Tomorrow I’m back on track for sure!

I have to drive my grandparents to Napa tomorrow morning to catch the Wine Train (my mom booked them an excursion for my grandpa’s 88th birthday present.) Then I have to go back in the afternoon to pick them up (its just a 4 hour trip through wine country.) Sooo… that will take up a good chunk of the day. I’m so behind at work it’s not even funny. Oh, and I’m supposed to do payroll, the bills, make deposits, I have a couple of orders to fill and ship, I have a couple of boxes that have been sitting by my desk for over a week that need to be entered into our system so we can SELL the merchandise inside them, I have special orders that should have been placed last week… well, I could go on and on… I just feel buried up way past my eyeballs.

I spend several hours today dealing with my grandparents and the facility where they’re living. I won’t go into details, but it’s an extra stress that I just don’t need right now. My mom is not here and basically unreachable and so it all falls on me. I know that I’m almost 40, but I feel like a kid in way over my head trying to deal with grown up responsibilities that I don’t know if I’m handling right. I’m really short and people usually think I’m in my 20s, so I often get treated like a naive kid too. I need to learn some self-confidence and quick!

I don’t have work today. My grandparents want to take my family out for breakfast this morning. Which sounds really sweet of them, and it is. However, the logistics are somewhat of a nightmare. They live in an assisted living home and can’t drive (my grandpa turned 88 a couple weeks ago, grandma is 87.) Grandpa has Parkinsons and is in a wheelchair most of the time (he can kind of walk with a walker but he falls a lot) and Grandma has Alzheimers and is like a spirited 3 year old most of the time. I also don’t own a vehicle that will hold 7 people AND my grandpa can get into (my minivan is out of the question, so is my parent’s SUV.) Which means I have to take my kids in the minivan to the restaurant, leave them, go to work where the car is that my grandfather can “easily” get in and out of, go pick up my grandparents, go back to the restaurant. Eat. And then do the whole thing in reverese. That’s a lot of work for some scrabbled eggs and toast!

It will be extra tricky because they don’t have a special gluten-free menu (most restaurants don’t, but I always call and ask ahead of time just in case. Maybe someday all restaurants will be more friendly to people with food allergies.) So I’m going to have to be really careful with what Sean gets. And he’s going to want waffles or pancakes, which he totally can’t have. I have to make sure the eggs aren’t made with milk (which he’s also allergic too) and he can’t have sausage (it usually has wheat fillers.) So basically he can have a couple of scrambled eggs and bacon. And fruit, but he’s not really into fruit. He’s 7. Even the simple things in life, like dining out, are a challenge for us.

As for the rest of the day, there is much lounging and loafing planned. Yep, a do-nothing day. Totally looking forward to it. A do-nothing day is rare and I plan to make the most of it. I may even take a nap! Ah, the luxury!!

Have a fun and safe Labor Day everyone!!